Mechanical stoker.



C. HARTER. MECHANICAL STOKER.

APPLIoATIoN FILED SEPT. 2a, 1909.

Patented Apr. 11,1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

akamu C. HARTER. MECHANICAL STOKER. APPLIoATIoN FILED SEPT. as, 1909.

Patented Apr. 11,1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

Patented Apr. 11, 1911.

C. HARTER.

l MECHANICAL STOKBR. APPLICATION FILED snPT. 23, 1909.

s. w T I E m e .Y a m T wml .V 9 a T P WKQWQQMWQWQNMMMMWA. 5% H Ik f 3 .s L .MWH4 1. r\, MW A, TGN w R Y s www. 1 m QNN :f w In m 1, f zv M3 S www 11 T 1 e RW N u, .%%N\ 4 j @by N Vy www CHARLES HARTER, 0F BARBERTON, OHIO.

MECHANICAL STOKER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 11, 1911.

Application led September 23, 1909. Serial No. 519,298.

To all whom fit may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES HARTER, citizen of the United States, residing atl Barberton, in the county of `Summit and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mechanical Stokers, 'of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to mechanism for distributing fuel over the grate'surface of a furnace, the object of m invention bein to Vprovide a mechanism w ich can be app ied with equally good results to the furnaces of locomotives, steam ships, or stationary boilers.

A further object of my invention is to provide a stoker of simple and compact construction, which vshall be economical and effective inthe distribution of coal over the gra-te surface, which shall have a large capacity in handlin coal, be simple to operate,

and provide a sto rer of great efficiency.

A still further object is to provide Ia mechanism by which the coal may be distributed at the will of the operator, over or upon any particular zone of distribution on the grate su face. a These objects I attain by means of the construction now to be described and illustrated in the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my apparatus as applied to a furnace, the Casin of the apparatus being shown in section; `ig. 2 is a longitudinal section of Fi'g. 1 on the line 2-2; Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective detail view of the mechanism forpperating the fuel box and for operating the clutches to reverse or stop the 'driving mechanism, the

casing being removed and one of the char i ing bars belng broken away; Fig. 4 is a si e elevation of a part of the mechanism shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary transverse .section partly in elevation ofthe parts shown in Fig. 4; Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9 are diagrammatic views showing the Various positions taken by the bell crank lever shown in Fig. 4 Fig. 10 'is a detail elevation of the driven shafts for actuating the Acharging bars and the gears carried thereby, the supporting liars being in section; Fig. 11 is a transverse section of the hopper,the outer casing and the supporting bar; and, Fig. 12 isa top view of the pull rod for dumping thev coal carrier.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followinfr description and indicated Iin all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

In these drawings,`A designates a furnace of any ordinary construction, such as used for locomotive, marine, or stationary boilers, and B indicates the grate thereof, a indicating the stoking opening.

Mounted in front of the front wall of the furnace A and above the stoking opening a is a hopper 2, of a shape to be hereafter described, the lower end of the hopper being extended to form a relatively contracted discharging neck 3 closed at its lower end by a sliding door 4, the means of operating which will be hereafter described.,

5 designates a casing or inclosure, preferably of metal, within which the operating mechanism of the Stoker is carried, and which supports the hopper 2. This casing is supported within the locomotive or adjacent to the furnace in any desired manner, and is open at its rear end to permit the rearward movement of the charging bars.

My stoking apparatus comprises, in general terms, two or more sets of charging arms or bars, each set carrying at its end al coal carrier, preferably having the form of a pocket, and each set operable so .that it may be drawn into such position as to bring' the pocket mounted thereon into alinement with the hop er to receive the coal,then forced into t e furnace to the lpoint required, then dumped, and then returned'to position beneath the main hopper 2.` I have shown, in the drawing, two sets ofy these charging bars, each with a coal pocket, and each provided with its own actuating mechanism, which actuating mechanism is independent of the actuating mechanism for the other set. I will therefore describe one set of chargin bars and the actuating mechanism there or, it being understood that both sets are alike. Referring now to Fig. 1, it will be seen that each 4set of char ing bars comprises two opposed bars 8 hel in suitable spaced relation to each other by cross bars or other means,which are adapted to be forced into thecharging opening a and into the furnace, the bars being supported within the casing 5 upon'a series of opposed airs of supportmg rolls 6. A pair of rolls also depend .from thetop of the easing 5 -pair of charging bars so that said bars are i or lower flanges of the channel iron with the rack teeth 10 which are shown in the drawing as located uponthe upper Vface of the lower flange 9 of the channel bar 8. Between the forward ends of the bars is located th`e pocket 12 which is formed at its out of the furnace, I provide the bottom into a plurality of compartments 14, each closed upon one side by the inclined gate or valve 15 which is pivoted at its upper end to the bottom of the pocket 12. Pivotally. connected to each of the gates 15 is a connecting rod 16 whichris attached to the downwardly extending extremity 17 of a double bell crank lever. One arm of this lever has upon it the c'ounterbalance weight 18, while the other arm of the lever .is connected to a rod 20, whereby the gates 15 may be operated to permit the coal within the pocket 12 to dump onto the grate bars. The means of operating the dumping mechanism will be described in its due order.

In order to operate the charging or distributing bars 8 and to carry them into or arallel shafts 30 31 mounted within bearings 32 and carrying upon their opposite ends the pinions 33 which engage with the rack teeth 10 on the arms 8. Mounted loosely upon the shafts y3() 31 are the loose gear wheels 34 and 35 which mesh with each other. Engaging with the gear wheel 34 and driving it, is the gear wheel 36 mounted on the shaft 37, which shaft is driven by a belt 38 from any suitable source of power. Inasmuch as the gear wheels 34 and 35 interinesh with each other, it will be obvious that one wheel will turn reversely to the other wheel. For the purpose of connecting the loose gear wheels 34 and 35 to their respective shafts 30 and 31, I provide the clutches 40 41 which are of any suitable construction and arev slidingly mount-- ed upon the shafts 30 31 so that when shifted into place they will connect either the gear wheel 34 or 35 with its respective shaft. It will thus be seen that when the clutch 40 is in gear with the wheel 34, the shaft 30, will be driven directly from the source of power and that the pinions 33 on the shaft 30 will act to drive the bars 8 in one direction or the other, depending upon the direction of movement of the shaft 37,` while when the clutch 40 is disconnected from `the wheel 34, and the clutch 41 is in engagement with the wheel 35, the power w1ll be transmitted to the loose gear 34, thence to the gear 35, thence to the shaft 3l, and

thence to the pinions 33 on the shaft 31, and the shaft 31 will rotate in theopposite direction to the shaft 30.

For the purpose of throwing one of the clutches 40 or 41 into engagement with its corresponding gear wheel, and throwing the other clutch out of engagement, I provide the opposed shipper arms 44 and 45, pivoted at their lower ends in any suitable fixed` base. These shipper arms are connected by links 46 to the opposed arms 47 of a bell crank lever, the middle arm 48 of which eX- tends rearward and is connected by a link 49 to an arm 50 mounted on a rock shaft 51. It will be seen that a rotation ofthe rock shaft 51 ineither direction (as illustrated most clearly in Fig. 3) will act to,

turn the bell'crank lever 47, and, through the links 46, draw one of the shippers 45 in one direction and force the othershipper 44, in the opposite direction, and that thus the clutches 40 and 41 will be oppositely shifted to reversely drive the bars 8, as previously described.

It is my design to provide means for dumping the carrier pocketat certain predetermined points or positions in the furnace.

In order to provide for this automatic dumpl ing of the fuel carrying pocket at these` points or positions, I provide automatic means for successively engaging the pull rod 20 at certain points in its length, as it moves into the furnace, Thus the rod 2O will be engaged, first, when it is only moved a short distance into the furnace. On the neXt following inw"ard movement of the charging bars, the pull rod 20 will be engaged at a point farther along its length. Upon the next following movement, the pull rod will be engaged at a point still farther along its length or nearer to the spring end and so on, thus distributing the coal each time upon a different zone of the fire. To this end I provide the rod 20 with a plurality of teeth arranged as shown in Fig. 12, the tooth 20l being nearest the lever 17, the tooth 20b being next, the tooth 20c succeeding the tooth 2Gb and that in turn being succeeded by a tooth 20d. For a reason which will be obvious later, these teeth must be out of alinement, the tooth 20a being shown as spaced laterally from the pull rod 20, the tooth 20b being mounted immediately adjacent to one side of the rod, the tooth 2()c being located immediately over the rod and the tooth 20b being mounted adjacent'` to the side of the rod opposite to the tooth 20h. As a means for successively engaging said teeth in heir regular order and exerting afpull upon the rod20, I mount upon the casing 5, above the bars 8 and slightly in advance of the gear wheels 34, a shaft 61. a plurality of disks, the disks being the same in number as the teeth on the pull rod 20v and corresponding thereto in a lateralposi- This carries upon it pairs of` teeth on the pull rod and Yconseadapted 4tion lto engage quently four disks, coa, ing

respectively numbered 60", 60c and 60d. Each 'disk has projectfrom it a number of teeth 62 which are .to engage with the corresponding pair of teeth on the pull rod 20. These disks are so arranged t at the teeth thereof have a quartering relation to each other.

`Thusin the position shown in Fig., 3 the teeth of the disk 60a extend downward, those of the disk'60" extend rearward, those of the disk-60c upwardl and those of the disk 60" forward or toward the furnace. 4Thus as the shaft 61 is rotated each of the pairs of teeth in turn will-be brought'into a downwardly extending position, hence into posithe corresponding' pairs of teeth on the iill rod The teeth on the ull `roti 2O ave reversely yinclined upper aces, as shown in Figs. 2 Iand 3and t us thelteeth on the rod will successively enga e 1S S with the corresponding teeth on the upon a forward movement of the rod toward the furnace, but '-willslipby `the teeth upon .a rearward movement without engaging them.

Carried uponthe outer extremity of the shaft-61 is a fixed head 63 which engages witha shiftable sleeve 64 whose inner face is provided with ,a series of ratchetteeth 65. These teeth have their inclined edges facing forwardly or' towaidthe furnace, as shown in Fig, ,3. The shaft 61 passes through a bearing in the frame 5, this bearing bei extended, as at 68, (Fig. 5) and surroun ing 'this bearing is a loose sleeve 70 carrying upon 1t the arms 71 and 72 located y ,shaft 61 in one direction is resisted by the veo at right angles to each other and formi a bel crank lever. "The arm 71 is connecte bya link 73 to an arm 74 projectin ,from

lthe rock shaft 51 previously referre ..to, so

that when the sleeve is turned, the rock shaft 51 will be turned, and through the connections |to the shipper arms 44 and 45, the clutches; will be operated, as previously described, A spring v66 acts to force the sleeve 64 toward the sleeve 70, so that the teeth 65 on the sleeve 64 will en age `with the corresponding' .teeth on the seeve 70. It will t us be seen that the rotation ,of the necessity of operating the sleevev 7 O, the link 73 and the rock shaft 51 with its attaching connections f to -the clutches. IIt will also be noted that a rotation of the shaft 61 in one direction will -causea movement of the sleeve 70, but a reverse movement of the sleeve 70 may be secured without operating i the shaft.

-Assuming now that the bars 8 are moving into the furnace, `it will be obvious that whenanybnefof the pairs of teeth 20, 20., 20, .or 20d engages with its corresponding ratchet disk on the shaft 61, as thebars 8 horizontal advance-the rod 20 will halted in its forward movement, and that therefore 4as the bars 8 advance a pull will be exerted upon the rod 20 which will act to turn the bell crank 17 move the rod- 16 and open the gates 15, the fire. 1t will alsobe obvious that the position at which this'coal will'be dumped into the furnace, will depend entirely. upon which -of the disks 60, 60","60c, or 60J are turned so as to bring the teeth thereon, into downwardly extending position where they 4can engage .with their corresponding teeth on the bar 20. Thus, if the parts are inthe position shown in Fig.`3, the teeth on the disk 60" will be downward, and as a conse'- quence, the next forward movement of the bars 8, and thus .the dumpingx gates 15 willvbe opened when the bars ave only advanced to their first positiony within the furnace or covering the zone w. 1f, however, the disk 60b were turned with its teethdownward, then the teeth 20 would beengaged,

and the coal would be dumped upon theA zonev w. The same o eration would occur. with the disks 60c an 60,'andrthe teeth20and allowing the coal to slide out upon v 20l rto dump the 'coal upon the zones yand a', 'l i as shown in Fig. 2.

It will beseen that 33 will engage the 4bars 8 to carry the bars by manipulatinglthey clutches as previously described, the pinions into the-furnace, and at the proper time, to

dump the coal.

T'he means for causing an automatic reversalof the driving gears so that the bars 8 shall be withdrawn from the furnace immediately upon the coal being dumped. are as follows: The resistanceto the rotation of the shaft 61 caused by the necessity of. oper.- ating the clutch 'shifting mechanism is sufficient to resist the initial pull of the rod 20 when its teeth become engaged by a disk.-

After the rod 20 has been withdrawnvto the i limit of its rearward movement by engagement with one of the disks so as to open the gates 15, al still further forward movement of'the pull rod as it is carried forward bythe I charging. bars, will act to rotate the disk and `the shaft .61. The rotation of this shaft through the head 63`a'nd the clutch 64 rotatcs the sleeve 70 which moves the arms 71 from a vertical position, as in Fig. 8, to a sition,

furnace, as s own in ign 3. This movement of the arm 71 from a vertical to a horizontal.

position, through the 4link 73 operates thel the clutches to their extreme position, vthus connecting the gear.

rock shaft 51.to throw 35 with its shaft and disconnecting the gear 34, thus causing the charging bars to travel rearward or out. of thel furnace. l Fig. 3

shows the partsin the position taken as the charging bars 8 lare moving rearward, the disk 60d having released its engagement with clutches l will be assuming that one .or .the

49, the rock shaft the teeth 20d and the disk 60a being turned downward for the next dumping operation.

It isparticularly to be -noted that at the end of each inward travel of the bars, the shaft-6l is turned a quarter of a circle, and that it is necessary to turn this shaft a quarter'of a circle in order to throw the clutches 40, 41 from one extreme position to the other. l

Provision having been made for a return movement of the bars 8', it becomes necessary to provide'for a stoppage of the bars after lupon the forward end of one of the bars 8 rearward of the coal pockets is a lug or protuberance 102 having a rounded upper end.

This lug-or protuberance is of such height that,as shown in Fig. 4, it will engage withthe pin 80 as the bars 8 near their rearmost posit-ion, and will4 move this pin and the attached arm 72 rearward, thus depressing the arm ..71 and actuating the bellc'rank 47 through the link 73,

the arm74, the rock shaft 51 and the arm 50.

Referring to the series of views, Figs. 6 to 9, Fig'; 6 shows the position of the parts at the time when the bars .8 are in a retracted position and all motion is stopped, the being in theirneutral position. It seen that the arm 7l is inclined downward and forward, and the arm 472 down-ward and. rearward, while the pin is attlie middle` of the arcuate slot 81. The 'clutches being in their intermediate position, it is obvious that the machine will have come to a" stop and that it Iwill remain in inactive positief-n until .the clutches are thrown to-engage one or the other of the gears 3 4 or 35- withv its respective shaft.

cans are provided for manually throwing these clutches, as will be later described, and other of the clutches is thrown, it will be bseen that the throwing of. the clutch will causey (through thezmovement of thebell crank 47, the link 51 -and the link 73) a movement of the bell crank-'70 which will throw the arm 72 into the position. shown in Fig.` 7, that is, to the upper `extremity of the 'arcuate slot 81.

' moved forward by the gears, until they reach the position where` the load is to be dumped, whereupon the rod 20 will Vengage the proper disk 60, '60", 60, or 60d, and the this ward extremity of the resulting 1n the next fo `:trame 5. The sh The bars' 8 are. now

reversing mechanism will be put into operathe bars will be 4 and 8 show the position of the the clutches,

8 are about c crank 'being horizontal,- while the arm 72'` 80 occupies the forslot 81. -As the bar 8moves rearward,`the lu 102 engages with the pinvSO, as shownl in g. 9, and moves the pin and the arm 72 rearward to a middle position with regardi'to the slot 81, that is, the position' in Fig.` 6, which will thus move the bell crank lever 70 to` its middle is vertical, and the 'pin lpositionand vthrough the link 73,v the. rock shaft 5l and the bell crank47, move,the shipper arms 44 and 45 toa middle position. The lug 102,'after it has raised the pin 80 to a middle position as seen in Fig, 6, passes the pin and continues slightly beyond the same by the force ofits momentum, the actuating mechanism comes to rest, and

the cycle is completed.

to the position shown fin Fig. 6, when It will be seen that when the bell crank 70 is moved to the position shown in Fi 6 to throw the clutches 40and- 41 `totheir neutral position, it is necessary to disconneet the bell crank 70 from the shaft 61', for the reason that otherwise theshait 61 y would be reversely moved and the wrong disk l would be brought with its goo lowing lot of vcoal con, ecb, 60C, or 60d teeth in position` to en age the rod, thus being dumped' in the same position as was the previous lot. As a means for kdisconshafts from the shaftl 61, when the pocketcarrying charging bars have. returned to their outermost position with the pockets beg I provide the shiftable neath the hopper, clutch sleeve 64 which, as before remarked, is normally held by a spring 66 into en agement with the barrel of the bell ycrank ever 70. This clutch sleeve, however, is laterally .meeting the clutch-operating levers and rock i link 88 'is pivotally connected to an arm 90 1 projecting from'a short rock shaft 91. The extremity of the roc l the upwardly projecting r.arm 92 carrying a roller 93. The arm 92 projects u beneath the lower4 flange of the bar 8, and) this bar, at its forward end, just rearward of the shaft carries upon it 55 friction wheel 113 to rotate t pocket 12 and likewise rearward of the lug 102, is-formed with a rib or protubcrance 100 which, when the bars 8 are reaching their rearward position, and just prior to a the actuation of the arm 72 by the lug 102, acts to depressl the arm 92, rotate the rock shaft 91, lift the link 88, and operate the shipper arms 86, thereby shifting the clutch 64 out of engagement with the barrel of the bell crank lever 70, thus disconnecting the bell crank from the shaft 61. As soon as this disconnection hasy occurred, the lug 102 strikes 'the pin 80 and operates the bell crank lever 70 to throw the clutches 40 and 15 41 into their neutral-position, as before described, but without affecting the shaft 61, so that the ratchet disks on the shaft'are left in their previously turned position. As a means for manually operating the rock shaft 51 and throwing the clutches from their neutral position to the position wherein Vthe gears will drive the bars 8 forward into the furnace, I rovide lthe lever 106,

y the lower end of this lever being pivoted ,as at 107 to a fixed fulcrum, the intermediate portion of the lever being connectedb the link 105 to the arm 108 on the shat 51. Thus, a movement-of the lever 106 will manually shift the clutches.

Pivotally supported within the stoking hole opening a. is the door b whichI swings inward' to permit the introduction of the bars 8 and the pocket 12, but when said bars and pocket have been withdrawn, swings downward so as to close'the opening.

It is necessary of course that the sliding door 4 which closes the lower end of the hopper should be automatically operated v when the pocket 12 is carried back to a 40 position beneath the hopper. IFor this'purpose, I provide the door 4 with the `rearwardly projecting rack bars 110, and mounted upon a transverse shaft 112 are the pinions 111 which gear with said rack Vbars e5 110. The duter extremity of the shaft 112 is provided 1with a friction wheel 113 which is normally not engaged by the upper face ofthe outermost bar 8, but is engaged by a raised portion 114 of the bar which is located at the forward extremity of the bar and extends from a point just rearward of the pocket 12,

When the bar returns tion, the raised face 114 will en age with the e shaft 112,

and this through its pinio'ns', willopen the gate 104, allowing the coal to fall into the pocket 12, the gate remaining in this position until the'bars 8 move into the furnace, 6o when o'f'course the friction wheels 113 will be operated and thegate will be closed. As

seen in Fig. 11, the hopper is preferably formed with a contracted throat 120 andl with sides that gradually extend downward e5 and outward, as at 121, to the full width to the end of the bai".v

to its loading posi' ofboth of the hoppers 12. While I prefer this form of hopper, as leaving a passageway on either side of the central portion of the hopper, and being therefore particularly convenient for locomotives, yet I do not wish to limit myself to this special form of hopper. It will be seen that one hopper is used for both of the pockets 12, there being two gates 4, however, provided, one for each of the pockets.

It will be of course understood that what I have described relative to one set of pocketsupporting bars 8 and the connections whereby these bars are operated, applies to the opposed set of said bai's, and that while 80 I have shown two sets of bars and two pockets with a hopper common to both of the pockets, yet I wish it understood that I might use a greater number of setsof pocket-supporting bars than two, or that I might use only one set of these bars, if found desirable. It will be seen alsol that each set of these bars is independently operable, that both may be sent into the furnace at'one time, or that they may be oper- 90 ated alternately to each other, and that one may be sent into the first iosition to drop the coal upon the zonew o the furnace, or that the other might be movedinto the furnace in a position to deposit the coal u on the zone a, as may be `found. most desira le.

I have shown what I believe to be the preferable embodiment of my invention and the preferable details thereof, but I do not wish to be limited to these details nor to the exact arrangement of parts, as it is obvious that this arrangement of details of construction may be changed or varied in many ways, without departing-from the principles of my invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is 1 A mechanical Stoker including a carrier shiftable into and out of a furnace, driving mechanism for operating said carrier, means operatively connected to the driving mechanism for automatically dumping the carrier at a predetermined point, and means for automatically reversing the movement of the driving mechanism when the carrier is dumped tomovc the carrier out of the furnace. y

2. A mechanical stoker including a cai'- rier shiftable into and out of a furnace, driving mechanism for operating said carrier, a detent on the driving mechanism, a member connected to the carrier and engaged by said detent after the carrier is moved forward to a predetermined oint to automatically dump the carrier, an niechanism for automatically reversing the movement` of the driving mechanism and the carrier after the dumping operation to withdraw the carrier from the furnace.

8. A lmechanical Stoker including a support shiftable into vand out of a furnace, a fuel carrier on the support, a member extending from the carrier and operatively connected thereto, to dump the carrier when the support has reached a predetermined point within the furnace, reversibly operated gear wheels engaging with the support to move it into or out of the furnace and automatic-means for engaging one of said gear wheels with the carrier when Vthe support has reached a predetermined point in its inward movement and the carrier is dumped to return the support and carrier from the furnace.

4. A mechanical stoker, including a support movable into or out of a furnace, a fuel carrier on the support, gear wheels engaging the support to move it into or out of the furnace, automatic means operatively connected to driving mechanism for reversing the movement of the gear wheels when the carrier has reached a predetermined point where the coal is to be dumped, automatic means for dumpingthe carrier when v said point is reached, and automatic means for stopping the movement of the gear wheel when the carrier has been moved out ofthe furnace.l

5. A mechanical Stoker including a hopper having a gate closing the bottom thereof, a support movable into or out of a furnace, a fuel carrier mounted on the support, means for dumping said carrier onceduring each forward -movement thereof at suc- `cessivey predetermined points within the furnace, gearing operatively engaged with the support for moving it and the carrier into or out of the furnace, agate closing the discharge mouth of the hopper, and mechanism operatively engaged with the support for opening the gate when the carrier is in alinement therewith.

6. A mechanical stoker including a shiftable support movable into and out of a furnace, a fuel carrier on. said support, means for dumping said fuel carrier, gearing for shifting the support into and out of a furnace, mechanism for reversing or stopping thevmovement of said gearing, a hopper mounted above the support, a sliding gate closing the discharge mouth of the hopper,v

and` means on the support adjacent to the innerxend of the carrier adapted to operatively engage with said gate to open it as the carrier moves into registry with the hopper.

7. A mechanical stokerincluding a support movable intoor out of a furnace, a fuel carrier mounted on the support, means for dumping the fuel carrier, gearing o era- .tively engaging with the support to shift it into or out of the furnace, means for reversing or stopping the movement of said gearing, a hopper mounted above the support, a sliding gate closing the discharge mouth of the hopper and having rack bars, a shaft, pinions engaging with the rack bars of the gate, a gear wheel on the shaft 1n alinement with said support, and means on the outer end of the support, adjacent to the inner portion of the carrier, engageable with said gear wheel to rotate the shaft and open said gate as the carrier moves into registry therewith. j

8. A mechanical stoker including a support shiftable into or out of a furnace, a fuel carrier on the extremity of the support, a rod operatively connected to dump the carrier, said rod extending rearwardly along the support, and a detent engaging the rod after the support has moved forward to a definite point to pull upon the rodand dump the carrier.

9. A mechanical Stoker including a support shiftable into and out of a furnace, a fuel carrier on the extremity of the support, a rod connected to said carrier and extending rearwardly along the sup ort, and a detent engaging the rod aft-er't e support has moved forward to a definite point to 'pull upon the rod and dump the carrier, said detent being shiftable to engage the rod atany one of a number of predetermined points.

10. A mechanical Stoker including a support shiftable into and out of a furnace, a fuel carrier on the extremity of the support, a rod connected 'to' said carrier and` extending rearwardly along the support, and a rotatable detent having a plurality of ratchet teeth projecting in different directions and on different transverse planes, said teeth adapted to successively engage said rod at predetermined points in its length to arrest the motion of the rod and dump said carrier.

11. A mechanical stokerincluding a support shifta'ble into and out -of fuel carrier on `the extremity of the support, a rod connected to said carrier and extending rearwardly along-the support, and a rotatable detent comprising a plurality of ratchet wheels having teeth projecting in different directions, adapted to successively engage said' rod at a plurality of predetermined points in its length to arrestthe motion of said rod and dump said carrier.

12. A mechanical stokcr including a support movable into and out of a furnace, a fuel carrier on the extremity of the support, a rod connected to said fuel carrier to dump the same, andextending rearwardly valong the support. said rod having thereon a pfurality of differently placed stops, and a detent shiftable to engage with one or another of said stops, whereby the rod may be arrested in its forward movement at any one of a number of predetermined points to operate the dumping mechanism. i

13. A mechanical stoker including-a support shiftable into or out of a furnace, a fuel carrier on the extremity of said supa furnace, a

.gaging with the port, an operating rodconnected to the f uel carrier to dump the same, and .extending rearwardlyalong the support, said operating rod having thereon ya plurality of dilferently placed projecting stops, and a ldetent comprising a plurality of members shiftable to bring oneor another intoposition to engage tlie corresponding stop on said rod to arrest the movement of said rod upon the forward movement ofthe support and operate said dumping rod. y

14. 4A mechanical stokerincludmg a support movable into or ont of a furnace a fuel carrier carried on the support, gearing ensupport and adapted to shift it, a hopper having a discharge mouth vwith which the carrier is adapted to register when withdrawn from the furnace, a dumping rod attached to and extending rearward from the carrier, and means4 for operating .said dumping rod, consisting of a plurality A ferent plane from the other member, and' differently y responding teeth extending indifferof-,members having n member being in a difeiit directions, each said rod being provided with a lurality of placed stops with which the cordetent member .is adapted to engage to arrest the movement of the rod and 1 dump the carrier'.

, 1 5. The combination with a furnace having astoking opening therein,'of a stoker through said stoking opening,

havingy a support movable into the furnace 'a fuel carrier carried upon the extremity of the support, gear wheels engaging withsai'd supportto Ashift it into or out ofthe furnace, driving `mechanism connected. to said gear wheels,

l means fori reversing or stoppingl the moveplanes,

' ment of the gear wheels, connected to the carrier,

vtancyes along an'operating rod said-rod having a of `stops `placed at different disthe rod and alsoplaced in different lateral planes, and a detent havingfa plurality'of teeth projecting indifferent directions and located in different lateral said teethcorresponding with the stops on said carrier operating rod, and yielding means for holding .the said -detent member from rotation until said carrier has been dumped, and afterward permitting the rotation of the detent member to bring another tooth into position to engage another stop upon said operating bar.

16. In, a mechanical Stoker, the combination with a furnace having ,a stokiiig opening, of`a pair of spaced parallel supporting bars, said bars being toothed. rollers upon which said bars are supported, gear wheels engaging with the bars to shift them into or out of the furnace, driving mechanism for said gear wheels, a hopper mounted above the bars and exterior to the furnace, said hopper lbeing located in a plane between the hars, a .coal carrier carried upon the extremity of the bars, gates closing the bottom plurality of the coal carrier, an operating rod connected with the gates, and means exterior to the furnace for moving the operating rod to open the gates.

17. The combination with -a longitudinallyl movable support, of oppositely movable driven elements engaged with said support, a driving element, clutch mechanism operatively engaging one or the other of the driven elements with the driving element, a shiftable element having a detent thereon, a stop on the said longitudinally movable support engaging with the detentto rotate the detent-carrying element when the supporting bar has reached the limit of its travel in one direction, and a connection between said shiftable detent-carrying element and the elements engaging with said bar, a driving element, clutch mechanism for operatively engaging one or the other of said driven elements with the driving element, a-rock shaft, a detent on the shaft, a stop carriedl 4 by the movable bar, engaging with the detent to move it and'rotate said rock shaft when the supporting bar `has reached the limit of its travel in one direction, a connectionbetween said rock shaft and the clutch mechanism, whereby the latter is operated upon a rotation of the former to reverse the motion of the supporting bar, an arm onthe said rock shaft, whereby it may be rocked, and a projection on the forward end of the supporting bar, engageable with the said arm to move the rock shaft to a neutral position and throw the clutches into a neutral posi tion out of engagement with either of the driven elements.

,19. The combination with a' longitudinally movable supporting bar, of oppositely movable driven elements engaging with said .,bai', a driving element, clutch mechanism for operatively engagingl one or the other of the driven elements with the driving lelement,l a rock shaft, a rotatable detent element carried on the shaft and having a projecting tooth whereby it may be turned to turn the rock shaft, a stop on the movable bar engaging with the tooth on the detent to move it and rotate said rock shaft, said stop being so located that itwill enga e with said tooth when the supporting bar as reached the limit of its movement in one direction, a connection between said rock shaft and the clutch l mechanism, whereby the clutch mechanism is operated upon a movement of the rock shaft in either direction, an arni on the said shaft, anda projection on the `forward end of the supporting liar, 'engaging with said arm when the supporting bar' has reached the outward limit of its movement to move said arm to a neutral positionv and 1ngbar,engage'able with said arm to rock the shaft .and bell crank to a neutral position,

will be disengaged.

l f, 5 gaging with said bar, a driving element,

clutch mechanism for driving one or the other of said driven elements with the driving element, a rock shaft,a rotatable detent element on the rock shaft having a projecting tooth, a stop on the movable bar engaging with .the tooth to move the detent and,

rotate said rock shaft, said stop being so located as to engage with the detent when the movable bar hasreached lthe limit of its movement in one direction, a connection between said rock shaft and the clutch mechanism, whereby a rotative movement o'f the rockshaft in one direction or the other will cause the clutch mechanism to engage one or the other of the driven gears with the driving element, an arm on the rock shaft whereby it may be rocked, al projection on the supporting bar, engageable with said arm,

a manually operating lever, and connections between said operating lever and said clutches. p

21. The combination with a longitudinally movable supporting bar, of oppositely y movable driven elements engaging with said bar to move the same in one direction or the other, a driving element, clutch mechanism for operatively engagin one or the other of the driven elements with the driving element, a rock shaft, detent mechanism on the shaft, .comprising a plurality of differently directed teeth, said teeth being located in different transverse planes, a series of stops on the movable bar, said stops being located in planes corresponding with .the planes of the'resp'ective detent teeth and acting to move said detent teeth and rotate the rock shaft when the supporting bar has .moved in one direction to any predetermined position, a bell crank loosely mounted on the rockvl shaft, a connection between said bell crank and the clutch mechanism, a clutch Which,'when moved in one position engages' the bellcrank with the said rock shaft, an arm on the rock. shaft whereby it may` be rocked, a 4projection on the movable supportv and thereby throw the clutch mechanism. to

a neutral position, said stop being so locatedas to engage said arm when the supporting bar has reached the limit of its movement carrier, shiftable into and out of a furnaceA in an opposite direction to the movement of Athe first referred to, and mechanism operated bythe arrival of said-supporting bar at its last -named position, whereby the clutch between the bell crank and therock shaft 22. A mechanical Stoker including a sup- "porting bar carrying a fuel pocket at one A ,65 end, said supporting'bar having rack teeth thereon, parallel shafts having pinions engaging with said rack teeth, driven gears loose on said shafts and engaging with each other, a driving gear engageable with one of said driven gears, opposed clutch mechanism for engaging either of said driven gears with its respective shaft, a rock shaft having a manually `operated. lever and connected to said clutch mechanism, a rock shaft having thereon -a rotatable detent mechanism formed with a number of .differently projecting teeth, said' teeth lbeing located 1n" vertical planes, a Shaft upon which said detent mechanism is mounted,a bell crank lever loosely mounted upon said shaft and having` a connection from one of its arms to the said rock shaft, whereby a movement of the bell crank leverfshall operate the rock shaft to throw the clutches from one full position to the other, a spring clutch on said shaft engaging the bell crank lever with the shaft,l a series of stops on the sup'- porting bar engaging with said 'series of detent teeth to rotate the shaft through an arcy of a, circle and thereby turn the rock shaft and shift the clutches, said stop being located so as to engage the detent 'when the supporting bar has reachedV the limit yof its movement in onel direction, la stbp on the supporting bar so located as to engage with one arm of the bell crank lever upon.v the arrival of the supporting bar at the limit of itsmovement Min the other direction and to move said bell crank leverfto a neutral -position, to throw the clutches entirely out of engagement with the driven gears, a shipper lever connected to the clutchl mechanisml which engages the bell .crank lever with its shaft, a rock shaft kconnected to said clutch, shipper mechanism to operate the support and having anupwardly projecting arm, and a projection on said supporting bar, engageable to depress said arm'and operate the shipper to disconnect the clutch` from the bell cranklever when the support.

ing bar `has reached the limit of'its inward f movement.

2a A'meehanieal Stoker indudinga fuel carrier'gmeansfor reciprocating the carrier and thereby movingv it into a furnace andretracting it therefrom by thesame path, an automatic means for dumping the carrier, once for each 'movement thereof, lover sepa- ;ate and successive portions of'ia gra-tesm- 24. A mechanical Stoker, including a fuel by theI same path land movable successively to different predetermined points in the furnace upon eacl'i inwardmovement ofthe carrier into the`furnace,^"and automatie'ineans for 'dumping' the carrier' when the Galri'er has reached such predeterminedA oint.4r 9.5.. A mechanical Stoker-,inclu ing a fuel carrier, shift-able into and out of a furnace,

.the carrier beingmovable upon each inward movement successively to different predetermined points in the furnace, and means for automatically dumping the carrier at the limit of each of its inward movements.

26. A mechanical stoker including a support shiftable into and out of a furnace and movable successively to different predetermined points in the furnace, automatic means for dumping the carrier when the carrier has reached its predetermined position, and automatic means for retracting said support to move the carrier out of the furnace after the carrier has been dumped.

27. In a mechanical Stoker, the combination with a furnace having a stoking opening, of a pair of spaced parallel supporting bars, saidbars being toothed, rollers upon which the barsare supported, gear wheels engaging the bars to shlft them into or out of a furnace, driving mechanism for the gear wheels, a hopper mounted above the bars and exterior to the furnace, a` carrier mounted upon the extremity of the bars, an operating rod connected with the carrier, means operatively connected to the drivin mechanism for engaging said operatin ro to dump the carrier at successive pre etermined points within the furnace,.means exterior to the furnace for moving the operating rod to dump the carrier, automatic means for reversing the movement of said gear wheels to retract the supportin bars after the carrier has been dumpe and manually operated means for reversing the movement of said gear Wheels.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES HARTER. [L. s.] Witnesses:

ANNA BERNARD, W. A. MoR'roN. 

